Cambodia Mission:A Boy During Polpot Regime Now a Man of God

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that those who believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
Thank God for giving me this opportunity to share my testimony to you brothers and sisters. I hate Jesus before and I don’t know who He is so if there are people inviting me to join them in worship, I always refuse because when I was young, there is a Christian who shared the word of God to me and he said, “If you believe Jesus Christ, it won’t allow you to obey your parents and whenever a monk comes, spit on him.”
But then the Lord called and found me. When I went to Phnom Penh to look for another job better than teaching I met somebody in the house that I am renting in the person of Perlito Gatmen whom later on I found out is a missionary. One day, he lost his way going to teach so he stopped to my place and asked his direction. He offered to teach me English for free. Since then, I studied English with him everyday. And though the house that I am renting is very small, it doesn’t have a table, just a bed and a white board but I have felt his willingness and enthusiasm to teach me. Once in a while, he is inviting me to go to church with him and even though I don’t understand what they are doing, he is patiently explaining to me. Sometimes after our English class, he is asking me to study Bible with him. He gave me a Khmer Bible and I tried to read it until I understand that Christians are good people, not as I thought before.
God is not yet finished with me, He called me to His church through the leading of teacher Perlito. December 22, 2002, he invited me to join the worship in a big church that has a lot of people from different countries. He guided me to go to the altar, I didn’t like it at first because I didn’t understand what they are doing but he persistently invited me. Subsequently was to a smaller church near the house that I am renting. While I listened to the good preaching of the pastor, teacher Perlito asked me, “Do you want to become like him?” I didn’t reply, instead I observed what the people are doing. I saw them closing their eyes so I followed them but still I didn’t understand. Sometimes, when I got home after the church service, I have a terrible headache but I continuously go and attend church until I receive God’s healing to me.
And so God taught me to pray. One day after my English class with teacher Perlito he asked me, “Do you want to know how to pray?” I asked him what does pray mean. He patiently explained it to me and we started to pray. I followed what he is saying until I learned how to do it by myself. Prayer means to have a relationship with our God. We asked Him what we needed like wisdom to do all things in this life. We pray before we eat, before we sleep and when we wake up. I delighted myself therefore in praying until God showed me that He is indeed the answer to every prayer. When I lost my job in Phnom Penh and I don’t have any penny on my pocket that was January 28, 2003, God used a man to gave me 1$ to buy for my food. I can’t hold myself to praise Him for I acknowledge that this is a gift from Him. Indeed, He knows the need of those who trusts in HIM.
I finally accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior on January 27, 2003 when teacher Perlito led me to an acceptance prayer. So life goes on until I have decided to come back to Kampong Thom because I can’t find enough money to live in Phnom Penh so when I told this to teacher Perlito he decided to come and live with me in our humble house. I opened English class in my house and from time to time, teacher Perlito would teach us about the Bible and how to pray and every Sunday we were having worship service until God filled my house with people worshipping the Lord that it can’t contain anymore so we prayed for another place. And God answered our prayers. On August 9, 2003 the Lord provided the new place that we are gathered for worship. After five or six months, the place was full again and so we once more bowed down to the Lord. On August 1, 2004 God provided a lot in which we bought to build a church in Achaliak village. But our prayer didn’t end there, we continuously pray for our permit to be granted by EFC and on February 18, 2005 Kampuchea Assemblies of the First Born was finally born with the permit being granted.
I have another experienced in which God answered my prayer. I asked the Lord to provide the best woman whom He has chosen to be my wife and so God did it. He let Chanty (my wife)met my way and we fell in love with each other and after three months we planned to get marry but I worried about my finances for the wedding and again I lifted that burden to the Lord and He provided.
Before I will end my testimony, let me share my words of encouragement and prayer to all of you. John 3:16, which I always memorize, speaks about God’s wonderful love to all of us. Let us pray:
“Thank you our Father in heaven for creating heaven and earth, for dying on the cross for our sins. Thank you also for this opportunity for me to share my testimony. Lord I pray that you bless anyone who reads my humble testimony. Give me wisdom on how could I expand your Kingdom over Cambodia. And I pray also for my co-leaders in the church that You will add more burden in their heart for this ministry you’ve entrusted to us. Bless also our sponsors; bless the works of their hands and the sources of their income. Have your way Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”